The radiating glow of the magic of friendship subsided in the mare’s bodies, as they gently drifted down back to the air, all except for Dash who caught herself and hovered using her wings. Twilight took a deep breath and took a step forward, looking down at the enemy before them.

An earth pony mare was lying on the ground, cowering before the majesty that was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Her coat, mane and tail were all singed, her body trembling.

She blinked, seeing a dazzling glow begin to emit from Twilight’s horn. “Just g-get it over with…” she stammered, closing her eyes.

“You brought this on yourself,” Twilight spoke neutrally, throwing back her head, ready to throw the spell at her.

“Hold on, sugarcube.”

A firm hoof on Twilight’s shoulder stopped all traces of her spell. Blinking, she turned to find Applejack at her side. “Why aren’t we sparin’ this one?”

“What?” Twilight asked, folding in her wings.

The villain opened her eyes, quickly glancing between the two mares above her.

“She committed terrible crimes! Have you forgotten that already?” Twilight continued.

“I did poison your water supply, burned your crops, and delivered a plague unto your houses,” the mare said, nodding.

“Exactly!” Twilight agreed. She paused for a moment, turning to her enemy. “Er, thanks I guess.”

“Does this mean I get spared?”

Twilight frowned. “No.”

Rainbow flew ahead, above the pair. “Why the hay not?!”

“Rainbow, she literally just explained why we shouldn’t,” Twilight grumbled.

“Is it because she’s an earth pony?” Pinkie piped up, appearing randomly from behind Applejack.

Twilight looked at her. “What?”

“Y’know, she’s not a unicorn!” Pinkie cheerfully replied.

“Wait, are we,” Twilight narrowed her eyes, “are we really doing this? Right now?”

“You did seem to spare Starlight Glimmer quite willingly, despite all she did. She didn’t even feel any remorse for what she did,” Rarity said, stepping forward.

“Neither has she!” Twilight pointed at their foe. She tilted her head at her. “Sorry, I’m not sure we ever caught your name…”

“Foggy Mist,” she said. “And no, I really don’t feel any remorse for what I did.”

“There you go!” Twilight cried, stamping a hoof.

“She’s not exactly running…” Fluttershy meekly added, avoiding Foggy’s gaze.

“Yeah, Starlight ran for the mountains and you just let her go!” Dash said, throwing a hoof to the air.

“I’ve accepted my fate,” Foggy stated. “Whatever it is.”

Twilight groaned. “Okay, so I made a big mistake back there! That doesn’t mean I’m a racist!”

“Er, we weren’t calling you a racist, Twi,” Applejack said.

Pinkie jumped above the group, grinning. “I was!”

“Pinkie,” Applejack scolded, giving Pinkie a glare whenever she popped into view.

Pinkie stopped her bouncing, spinning on her hind hoof once. “I call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

“Come to think of it, darling,” Rarity mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, “you also spared that Sunset Shimmer mare. Wasn’t she a unicorn too?”

“She had changed!” Twilight cried, her wings spreading out. “I saw it with my own eyes, she wanted forgiveness! She wanted friendship in her heart! Besides, neither Sunset or Starlight had done anything as bad as Foggy has here!”

“Starlight Glimmer stole a whole town’s worth of identities from ponies, forcing them to work for her in a creepy… what’s the word… commune, I suppose?” Rarity wondered. “Essentially they were slaves, either way.”

“And Sunset Shimmer was going to use an army of teenages—” Pinkie zoomed up in front of Twilight’s face, “—teenagers, Twilight! Teenagers to literally take over the whole of Equestria!”

Twilight let out a mighty grunt of frustration, flying up into the air. “I’m not a racist! Why don’t you believe me when I say that?!”

There was a long period of silence between the group, glances avoided, body movements awkward.

“It did take you a really long time to warm up to Discord…” Fluttershy muttered.

“Sweet Celestia! Fine, if you’re so loving and tolerant, you deal with her! I’m done!” Twilight shouted, flying away.

Applejack watched her go, then turned to see the rest of the group staring at her. She shrugged, then approached Foggy. “Ya think you can change?”

“Not really. After what I did, there’s no way I can integrate into society again.” She rolled her eyes, then laid her head down on the floor. “Make it quick at least.”

Turning, Applejack stared at her friends, all capable of some amazing feats but none of them a quick, clean kill.

“Ah, horsefeathers.”